Method for producing compression-molded articles

ABSTRACT

A method of producing molded articles from a mixture of comminuted material and binder in which the mixture is dropped at a substantially uniform rate onto a filling gate which is provided with at least one aperture having a lower outlet end in vertical alignment with the open end of at least one compartment. At least one wall defining the aperture extends outwardly and upwardly inclined with respect to the outlet end so that the mixture dropping on the inclined wall is intercepted and slides down the inclined wall into a portion of the compartment adjacent thereto so that this portion of the compartment will receive a greater quantity of the mixture than the remainder thereof. The principle may also be used in a mold having a plurality of compartments of different depths which have to be filled substantially to the same upper level. The thus filled mold is then placed in a press into which the mixture is compressed to a solid article which is thereafter removed from the mold.

United States Patent Munk METHOD FOR PRODUCING COMPRESSION-MOLDEDARTICLES Inventor: Edmund E. Munk, Oberstenfeld,

Germany Werzalit-Pressholzinerk J. F. Werz Jr. KG, Oberstenfeld nearStuttgart, Germany Assignee:

Filed: Dec. 9, 1969 Appl. No.: 883,432

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Eusner ....25/103 Munk ..264/109ii mm emiigm-H HH 1March 13, 1973 Primary ExaminerRobert F. WhiteAssistant Examiner-J. R. Hall AttorneyMichael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT Amethod of producing molded articles from a mixture of comminutedmaterial and binder in which the mixture is dropped at a substantiallyuniform rate onto a filling gate which is provided with at least oneaperture having a lower outlet end in vertical alignment with the openend of at least one compartment. At least one wall defining the apertureextends outwardly and upwardly inclined with respect to the outlet endso that the mixture dropping on the inclined wall is intercepted andslides down the inclined wall into a per tion of the compartmentadjacent thereto so that this portion of the compartment will receive agreater quantity of the mixture than the remainder thereof. Theprinciple may also be used in a mold having a plurality of compartmentsof different depths which have to be filled substantially to the sameupper level. The thus filled mold is then placed in a press into whichthe mixture is compressed to a solid article which is thereafter removedfrom the mold.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures I- H H i 51 I PATENTEUHARI 3M3 sum rnr 2Edmund E. Munk INVENTOR PATENTFEHAR] 3M5 SHEET 2 OF 2 FIG. 3.

mund E. Munk INVENTOR.

METHOD FOR PRODUCING COMPRESSION- MOLDEI) ARTICLES The present inventionrelates to a method for molding articles under compression in a moldwhich is filled with a mixture of comminuted fibrous materials, forexample, wood chips, and a binder, for example, a hotsetting syntheticresin, and which is then compressed in the mold either in a coldcondition for producing blanks of the desired articles or by thesimultaneous application of heat for directly producing the desiredarticles. The molds and the method for filling the same should alsopermit the production of molded articles of intricate shapes or withparts of different thicknesses or of several equal or different articlessimultaneously at each molding stroke ofa common die or ofa ram which isprovided with a plurality of different dies.

Prior to this invention it was conventional to fill the molding mixtureby hand into the mold or at least to distribute it therein by hand.Apart from the fact that this filling method does not permit the mixtureto be uniformly distributed within the mold, it is also a complicatedand very time-wasting operation and requires specially trainedpersonnel.

In order to overcome these disadvantages of a manual filling operation,a mechanical filling method has already been proposed in which thebottom mold is divided into a plurality of mold compartments of a simplegeometrical shape. For filling these individual compartments, therequired amount of material must first be filled at a position remotefrom the mold into a corresponding number of-filling hoppers which arethen moved successively to the positions above the differentcompartments and are then emptied into the latter, whereupon thesehoppers are moved to their former positions to be refilled. Althoughthis filling operation may be carried out more or less automatically, itrequires a considerable length of time since it actually amounts 'to twofilling operations, namely, of first filling the hoppers and of thenfilling the mold compartments from these hoppers. Furthermore, thismethod is not suitable, for properly filling molds of a more intricateshape or of filling several mold compartments of different shapessimultaneously.

It is an object of thepresent invention to provide a method whichpermits the mold to be filled very quickly and fully automatically.According to the invention, this filling operation is to be carried outby a distributing apparatus of a type similar to that as employed in thetextile art for producing a homogeneous fleece. During the fillingoperation this distributing apparatus is moved once or several timesback and forth over the mold to be filled and, according to oneimportant feature of the invention, a filling gate is provided betweenthe distributing apparatus and the mold through which the moldingmixture is guided so as to pass by gravity into the different parts orcompartments of the mold.

Another important feature of the invention consists in providing atleast some of the walls or wall portions of the apertures of the gatethrough which the molding mixture is passed into the mold withfunnellike surfaces which are downwardly and inwardly inclined atsuitable angles in accordance with different amounts of molding materialwhich might be required for filling the particular mold or moldcompartments.

Another feature of the invention consists in designing the filling gateso as to permit the walls defining the gate apertures to be adjustableto different angles for regulating the quantity of material which is tobe filled into each mold compartment.

If the mold is divided into a plurality of compart ments in whichseparate elements are to be molded simultaneously and which previouslyhave been filled successively through the gate apertures by the samedistributing apparatus moving back and forth over the gate, it isanother feature of the invention to prevent any of the mold compartmentsfrom being-filled improperly or excessively by designing the wallsdefining the gate apertures so as also to form the walls of chamberswhich are open at their upper ends and are adapted to receive themolding mixture which should not pass through the gate apertures intothe mold compartments underneath. According to another feature of theinvention, a suitable mechanism is provided for tilting over the entiregate after it has been laterally retracted from the mold after thefilling operation so as to empty these gate chambers and to return themolding material to the bin from whichthe distributing apparatus issupplied.

According to a further feature of the invention, the new method ispreferably carried out very economically by employing two molds whichare alternately movable horizontally to and away from a positionunderneath the vertically movable maledies of the press so that whileone mold is filled by the filling apparatus, the material in thecompartments of the other mold is being compressed. If the two molds aredesigned so that the upper surfaces of the material to be compressed inall compartments of each mold are disposed substantially at the samelevel and the frame forming the side walls of all compartments of eachmold may be depressed against spring action by a common male die duringthe compression stroke of the latter, the compartments in each mold mayalso be of a size and shape different from those of the compartment ofthe other mold. I

These and numerous additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more clearly apparent from the following detaileddescription thereof which is to be read with reference to theaccompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section of a bottom mold and the associatedgate, this section being taken along the line [-1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2' shows a top view of the filling gate according to FIG. I; differFIG. 2a shows a vertical section of a part of the mold according to FIG.1 which is taken along the line II.II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 shows diagrammatically the arrangement of two bottom molds whichare alternately filled inone position and moved to another positionunderneath a male die unit; while FIG. 4 illustrates the operation ofemptying the chambers of the filling gate after each filling operation.

In the drawings it is assumed that the press according to the inventionwhich comprises one or more vertically movable upper dies, not shown,and a bottom mold l which is movable horizontally from a fillingposition spaced from the press to a molding position underneath theupper die or dies is adapted to produce at each molding stroke aplurality of molded objects of different sizes and/or shapes, althoughthey may, of course, also all be of the same size and shape. The bottommold l is for this purpose divided into a plurality of mold compartments11, 12, 13 and 14 of different depths so that the molding mixture has tobe filled into the different compartments up to different heights, forexample, to the heights m and n. Although the upper surfaces of thematerial in the different mold compartments are illustrated as beingdisposed at substantially the same level, these levels may, of course,also differe from each other if the respective upper dies have differentlengths.

For filling the molding mixture into the mold compartments 11 to 14 whenthe mold 1 is in its filling position laterally away from the press, afilling or distributing apparatus 6 may be employed which is of a typesimilar to that as used in the textile art for producing a homogeneousfleece. through which a mixture of particulated material and a bindermay be dropped at a uniform rate as indicated by the arrows over anyarea having a width b. This filling apparatus 6 which is indicated onlydiagrammatically in FIGS. 1 and 3 is adapted to be moved once orrepeatedly back and forth over the bottom mold 1.

For carrying out the filling operation so as to fill each moldcompartment 1 l to 14 to the properlevel, a filling gate 2 is interposedbetween the filling apparatus 6 and the bottom mold 1 and is preferablyplaced directly upon the latter' This filling gate 2 which has arectangular shape with outer dimensions substantially equal to those ofthe mold 1 and has a height h is provided with apertures 21, 22, 23,.and24 at least the lower ends of which 41, 42, 43, and 44 have the sameshapes and dimensions as the open upper ends of the mold compartmentsll, l2, l3, and 14, respectively and should during the filling operationbein exact vertical alignment with the latter. These gate apertures aredefined by the walls 31, 31", 32', 32", 32a, 32a", 33, 33", 34, and 34",respectively, which also form the side walls of chambers 26, 27, 28, and29 which by being open at their upper ends are adapted to receive theexcessive material which during the horizontal movement of the fillingapparatus 6 is'not dropped from the latter directly through the gateapertures 21, 22, 23, and 24 into the mold compartments ll, 12, 13, and14. Three chambers 26 to 29 therefore prevent this excessive materialfrom also falling through the gate apertures and from thereby falsifyingthe quantity of material which should be filled into each moldcompartment.

Since the filling apparatus 6 moves at a uniform rate of speed hack andforth over the filling gate 2 either in the direction of the doublearrow Z or at a right angle thereto and distributes the molding materialat least within the distance indicated by this double arrow, thematerial which would be deposited in all mold compartments which have aflat bottom and the same depth and side walls extending at a right angleto the bottom would fill these compartments to the same upper level.However, since in the particular embodiment of the mold as illustratedin the drawings each of the mold compartments 21, 22, and 24 has atleast partly a greater depth than the compartment 23, for example, thedepth m as compared with the depth n, but the material which isdeposited in all compartments of the mold should reach approximately auniform upper level, the invention provides the side walls 31' and 31"of the gate aperture 21, the side walls 32, 32", 32a, and 32a" of thegate aperture 22, and the side wall 34" of the gate aperture 24 to beoutwardly inclined in the upward direction at an angle which dependsupon the greater amount of material which the respective moldcompartment or compartment part should receive. The upper openings 51,52, and 54 of these gate apertures 21, 22, and 24 are therefore largerthan their lower openings 41, 42, and 44. Only the walls of the gateapertures, for example, the walls 33', 33", and 34', which are locatedabove the walls of those mold compartments or parts thereof into whichthe material is only to be filled up to the minimum level n are disposedvertically to the remaining upper and lower surfaces of the frame ofgate 2. The speed of the reciprocating movement of the filling apparatus6 and its rate of dispersal of molding material should therefore beregulated in accordance with the minimum depth n of the compartment 13and of the largest part of the compartment 14. Since only a small partat the left side of this compartment 14 has a greater depth, only theside wall 34" of the gate aperture 24 needs to be inclined.

Depending upon the size and shape of the respective mold compartment andthe product to be molded, either one or both of the walls of the gateapertures 21 and 24 extending transverse to the width b of the fillingapparatus 6 in FIG. 1 or one or both of the walls'extending in thisdirection, for example, those of the aperture 22 for the moldcompartment 12, or both the longitudinal and transverse walls of anygate aperture may be inclined at suitable angles. Since the moldcompartment 12 has an angular shape, as seen in a plan view, the walls32', 32", and the walls 32a, 32a" of the gate aperture 22 are inclinedat different angles. In order to permit the quantity of molding materialwhich is to be deposited in each mold compartment or adjacent to one ormore of its side walls to be properly adjusted, the side walls of thedifferent gate apertures are preferably movable to the most suitableinclinations and to be secured in such positions before a series offilling and molding operations is carried out.

After the filling operation is completed, mold 1 is moved laterally intothe press itself to a position in which the walls of each mold aperture11 to 14 are in vertical alignment with the outer surfaces of the upperdies (not shown). As indicated in FIG. 1 by dotted lines, the entireframe forming the lateral walls of the mold compartments may also bemovable downwardly against spring action so that for simultaneouslycompressing the molding mixture in all compartments of one bottom mold 1a single male die may be employed the lower surface of which has a sizecorresponding to the outer contour of the upper surface of the entirebottom mold.

FIG. 3 illustrates diagrammatically an apparatus which operatesaccording to a shuttle method so as to carry out the filling and moldingoperations according to the invention as quickly and economically aspossible. This apparatus comprises two molds 1 and 1' which arealternately filled through their associated filling gates 2 and 2 by thesame filling apparatus 6 at the positions outside of the opposite sidesof a press 5,

for example, a so-called boxer press, and the filled molds l and 1' arethen alternately moved into this press 5 in which the contents of themold compartments of the respective mold are compressed by one or moreupper dies, whereupon this mold is retracted from the press to permitthe molded products to be removed from the mold compartments which maythen be refilled for the next molding operation.

The shuttle method of operating this apparatus may be carried out indifferent manners. Thus, for example, the filling apparatus 6 may atfirst be moved from its initial full-line position as shown in FIG. 3 inthe direction of the double arrow 1 at least once over the mold l andits associated gate 2 and back to its initial position so as to fill themold compartments of this mold at the left side of the press 5. Thefilling apparatus 6 is then moved in the direction of the double arrow yto the dotted-line position 6' from which it is subsequently moved atleast once back and forth over the filling gate 2' so as to fill themold compartments of the mold 1 at the right side of press 5. Duringthis time the filled mold is moved from its position underneath gate 2into the press 5 in which the contents of its mold compartments arecompressed, while at the same time the filling gate 2 is pivotedcompletely over and back about a horizontal axis in the manner assubsequently described so as to remove the molding material which duringthe previous filling operation has been collected on gate 2 and in thegate chambers of this gate, for example, the chambers 26 to 29 as shownin FIG. 1. In the meantime, mold 1 has been filled through gate 2 by thefilling apparatus which, while this mold 1 moves away from gate 2' intothe press 5, moves from its position 6 back toward the left to itsinitial position for carrying out the next filling operation of mold 1.

Instead of moving the filling apparatus 6 back and forth in twodifferent directions, that is, in the directions y and z, and the moldsI and 1 in one direction x, the shuttle method may also be carried outby moving the molds l and 1' in two directions, that is, in thedirections z and x, and the filling apparatus only in one direction,that is, in the direction y. The molds l and I would then be filledthrough the filling gates 2 and 2 when they are in the two positionsunderneath those in which the filling apparatus 6, 6 is indicated inFIG. 3. A third possibility of carrying out this shuttle method consistsin mounting the filling apparatus in a fixed position, for example,centrally between its two positions 6 and 6' as shown in FIG. 3, and tomove the molds l and 1' relative thereto for being filled, although thiswould also require the filling gates 2 and 2 to be moved together withthe molds during a part of the movement of the latter. Finally, it is ofcourse also possible to provide two filling apparatus 6 and 6' whichthen only have to move alternately back and forth in the direction z,while the molds only have to move back and forth in direction x.

FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of removing the excess molding materialfrom the filling gates 2 and 2' which has been deposited thereon andcollected in the gate chambers, for example the chambers 26 to 29 asshown in FIG. 1, during the operation of filling the molds 1 and 1through the gate apertures. As previously described with reference tothe first shuttle method of operating the apparatus as illustrated inFIG.

3, this operation of emptying the gates 2 and 2 is carried out when therespective mold l of 1' after being filled has been moved underneath theassociated gate 2 or 2 into the press 5. Gate 2 or 2' is then pivotedover completely about a horizontal axis 7 in the direction of the arrowsa to the position 2" in which it is located above a funnellike hopper 3,so that all the molding material which has been collected in the gatechambers or on the remaining upper surfaces of the gate is dumped intothis hopper 3 from which it is returned pneumatically through a channel4 either into a main container (not shown) of the molding material fromwhich the filling apparatus 6 is supplied or directly into the latter.The respective gate 2 or 2 then remains in this upside-down position 2alaterally away from its filling position until the molding operation inthe press 5 has been completed and the mold l or 1' has been moved outof the press and back to its former position and the molded productshave been removed from the mold. Thereafter the gate 2 or 2' is pivotedback to its filling position in the direction opposite to that asindicated by the arrows a, whereupon the next filling operation may becarried out.

If the gate chambers, for example, the chamber 26 to 29 as shown in FIG.1, are to be omitted, the mold compartments are to be made of largerdimensions. The walls defining the gate apertures should terminate attheir upper ends into sharp edges so that no molding material can bedeposited thereon which might then fall into and through the gateapertures and falsify the quantity of material which should be depositedin the mold chambers.

As previously mentioned, the method according to the present inventionmay be employed either'for'coldmolding of blanks which are subsequentlymolded once apparatus fully automatically and without any supervi slon.

The filling gates as previously described and illustrateddiagrammatically in the drawings may also be modified extensively.Although it has previously been mentioned that the inclination of thewalls of the gate apertures may be adjustable prior to the production ofa series of molded articles, it may also be advisable to design thesegates so as to permit the inclination of these walls to be varied duringthe production so as to increase or decrease the sizes of the upperopenings relative to those of the lower openings of the gate aperturesso that one part of a larger order of molded articles may, for example,be compressed to a higher degree of solidity than the other part. Thegates may, however, also be designed so that the gate apertures areformed by the walls of funnels of fixed shapes which are removablysecured within the frame of the gate so as to permit them to beexchanged for others.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with referenceto the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood thatit is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments but iscapable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is:

l. A method of molding a mixture of comminuted fibrous material and abinder in a mold having separate compartments, each having an open upperend and said compartments having different depths so as to receivedifferent amounts of said mixture for molding articles of differentthickness within said compartments of said mold, said method comprisingthe steps of dropping said mixture from above said mold at asubstantially uniform rate of distribution through apertures having anupper inlet and a lower outlet, with each of said outlets positionedover the upper open end of a respective compartment, the ratio of crosssectional area of the upper inlet to the corresponding lower outlet ofsaid apertures being greater for a compartment having a greater depththan for a compartment having a lesser depth whereby a greater amount ofsaid mixture being dropped over an aperture of greater cross sectionalupper inlet area is directed through said aperture to said lower outletand into a compartment having a greater depth, while a smaller amount ofsaid mixture being dropped over an aperture of smaller cross sectionalupper inlet area is directed through the corresponding lower outlet intoa compartment of lesser depth; moving the thus filled mold into a press;compressing in said press said mixture in each compartment so as to forma solid article therein; and removing each article from said mold.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein a given compartment defines amold cavity having at least one portion of greater depth than theremainder of said mold cavity, and wherein said greater amount of saidmixture dropping through said greater upper inlet area of said apertureis directed to said portion of greater depth of said mold cavity.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the cross sectional area ofthe lower outlet of each aperture matches and is aligned with the openupper end of a respective compartment.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the upper inlets of saidapertures are spaced from each other and including the steps ofcollecting that part of the dropped mixture which does not fallvertically into said apertures in chambers surrounding said apertures,and removing the mixture from said chambers while the mold is moved intothe press.

5. A method of simultaneously producing a plurality of molded articlesof a mixture of comminuted fibrous materials and a binder, comprisingthe operations of filling at least two compartments of a mold havingopen upper ends and different depths with said mixture to asubstantially uniform upper'level by first covering at least a part ofsaid mold with a filling gate having at least two apertures defined bylateral walls and each having an open upper inlet end and an open loweroutlet end, said outlet ends having the same sizes and shapes as, andbeing in vertical alignment with, said upper ends of the walls of saidcompartments, at least one of said walls of said gate aperture above thedeeper mold compartment being inclined so that its inlet end is largerthan its outlet end, and then moving a filling apparatus and said moldincluding said gate relative to each other so that said fillingapparatus passes at least once over said gate while said fillingapparatus dispenses said mixture at a uniform rate of distribution in adirection substantially transverse to the direction of said relativemovement, whereby said compartments receive said mixture which dropsvertically from said filling apparatus through said gate apertures andsaid deeper compartment additionally receives that part of said mixturewhich drops upon and slides downwardly along said inclined wall so as tocompensate for the difference in depth between said compartments, thenmoving said mold without said gate into a press, then simultaneouslycompressing said mixture in both of said compartments to form solidarticles of different heights, and then removing said articles from saidcompartments.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, in which during the relative movementbetween said filling apparatus and said mold including said gate whilesaid filling apparatus dispenses said mixture on said gate and throughsaid apertures the excess of said mixture which does not fall verticallyinto said gate apertures and on said inclined wall is collected on saidgate and in chambers surrounding said gate apertures and having innerwalls forming said walls of said apertures, and further comprising thesteps of pivoting said gate about a horizontal axis to an upside-downposition when said mold is moved away from said gate and into said pressso as to remove said, excess mixture from said gate and said chambers,and returning said excess mixture to said filling apparatus.

7. A method as defined in claim 6 for carrying out a substantiallycontinuous production of a larger series of said molded articles, inwhich said one filling apparatus and at least two of said moldsincluding their associated gates are moved alternately relative to eachother so as to fill said molds alternately through said gates, thenmoving a first filled mold away from its gate and from said fillingapparatus and into said press, then compressing said mixture in saidcompartments of said first mold while pivoting said gate of said firstmold upsidedown so as to remove said excess mixture therefrom, thenwithdrawing said first mold from said press and removing said compressedarticles from its compartments, then pivoting said gate back over saidfirst mold, then repeating said operations with said second filled moldand its gate while said first mold is filled again through its gate bysaid filling apparatus.

* III k

1. A method of molding a mixture of comminuted fibrous material and abinder in a mold having separate compartments, each having an open upperend and said compartments having different depths so as to receivedifferent amounts of said mixture for molding articles of differentthickness within said compartments of said mold, said method comprisingthe steps of dropping said mixture from above said mold at asubstantially uniform rate of distribution through apertures having anupper inlet and a lower outlet, with each of said outlets positionedover the upper open end of a respective compartment, the ratio of crosssectional area of the upper inlet to the corresponding lower outlet ofsaid apertures being greater for a compartment having a greater depththan for a compartment having a lesser depth whereby a greater amount ofsaid mixture being dropped over an aperture of greater cross sectionalupper inlet area is directed through said aperture to said lower outletand into a compartment having a greater depth, while a smaller amount ofsaid mixture being dropped over an aperture of smaller cross sectionalupper inlet area is directed through the corresponding lower outlet intoa compartment of lesser depth; moving the thus filled mold into a press;compressing in said press said mixture in each compartment so as to forma solid article therein; and removing each article from said mold.
 1. Amethod of molding a mixture of comminuted fibrous material and a binderin a mold having separate compartments, each having an open upper endand said compartments having different depths so as to receive differentamounts of said mixture for molding articles of different thicknesswithin said compartments of said mold, said method comprising the stepsof dropping said mixture from above said mold at a substantially uniformrate of distribution through apertures having an upper inlet and a loweroutlet, with each of said outlets positioned over the upper open end ofa respective compartment, the ratio of cross sectional area of the upperinlet to the corresponding lower outlet of said apertures being greaterfor a compartment having a greater depth than for a compartment having alesser depth whereby a greater amount of said mixture being dropped overan aperture of greater cross sectional upper inlet area is directedthrough said aperture to said lower outlet and into a compartment havinga greater depth, while a smaller amount of said mixture being droppedover an aperture of smaller cross sectional upper inlet area is directedthrough the corresponding lower outlet into a compartment of lesserdepth; moving the thus filled mold into a press; compressing in saidpress said mixture in each compartment so as to form a solid articletherein; and removing each article from said mold.
 2. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein a given compartment defines a mold cavityhaving at least one portion of greater depth than the remainder of saidmold cavity, And wherein said greater amount of said mixture droppingthrough said greater upper inlet area of said aperture is directed tosaid portion of greater depth of said mold cavity.
 3. A method asdefined in claim 1, wherein the cross sectional area of the lower outletof each aperture matches and is aligned with the open upper end of arespective compartment.
 4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein theupper inlets of said apertures are spaced from each other and includingthe steps of collecting that part of the dropped mixture which does notfall vertically into said apertures in chambers surrounding saidapertures, and removing the mixture from said chambers while the mold ismoved into the press.
 5. A method of simultaneously producing aplurality of molded articles of a mixture of comminuted fibrousmaterials and a binder, comprising the operations of filling at leasttwo compartments of a mold having open upper ends and different depthswith said mixture to a substantially uniform upper level by firstcovering at least a part of said mold with a filling gate having atleast two apertures defined by lateral walls and each having an openupper inlet end and an open lower outlet end, said outlet ends havingthe same sizes and shapes as, and being in vertical alignment with, saidupper ends of the walls of said compartments, at least one of said wallsof said gate aperture above the deeper mold compartment being inclinedso that its inlet end is larger than its outlet end, and then moving afilling apparatus and said mold including said gate relative to eachother so that said filling apparatus passes at least once over said gatewhile said filling apparatus dispenses said mixture at a uniform rate ofdistribution in a direction substantially transverse to the direction ofsaid relative movement, whereby said compartments receive said mixturewhich drops vertically from said filling apparatus through said gateapertures and said deeper compartment additionally receives that part ofsaid mixture which drops upon and slides downwardly along said inclinedwall so as to compensate for the difference in depth between saidcompartments, then moving said mold without said gate into a press, thensimultaneously compressing said mixture in both of said compartments toform solid articles of different heights, and then removing saidarticles from said compartments.
 6. A method as defined in claim 5, inwhich during the relative movement between said filling apparatus andsaid mold including said gate while said filling apparatus dispensessaid mixture on said gate and through said apertures the excess of saidmixture which does not fall vertically into said gate apertures and onsaid inclined wall is collected on said gate and in chambers surroundingsaid gate apertures and having inner walls forming said walls of saidapertures, and further comprising the steps of pivoting said gate abouta horizontal axis to an upside-down position when said mold is movedaway from said gate and into said press so as to remove said excessmixture from said gate and said chambers, and returning said excessmixture to said filling apparatus.